Ice crusher attachment for motor driven power units



y 0, 1967 T. w. HEERMANS 3,322,358

ICE GRUSHER ATTACHMENT FOR MOTOR DRIVEN POWER UNITS Filed Sept. 25, 19632 Sheets-Sheet 1 l3 Ill/ 1 INVENTOR. Thomas W. Heermans I g 2 75% i. M?

'ATTZRNEY May 30, 1967 T. w. HEERMANS 3,322,353

ICE CRUSHER ATTACHMENT FOR MOTOR DRIVEN POWER UNITS Filed Sept. 25 196373 Sheets$heet 2 IINVENTOR. Thomas W. Heermans BY? n a: ATTORNEY UnitedStates Patent Ofi ice 3,322,358 Patented May 30, 1967 3,322,358 ICECRUSHER ATTACHMENT FOR MOTOR DRIVEN POWER UNITS Thomas W. Heermans,Racine, Wis., assignor to Scovill Manufacturing Company, Waterbury,Conn., 21 corporation of Connecticut Filed Sept. 23, 1963, Ser. No.310,820 12 Claims. (Cl. 241275) This invention relates to an icecrushing attachment which may be mounted on any suitable motor drivenpower unit or be substituted for the ingredient container of a motordriven blender, such, for example, as the blender shown in US. PatentNo. 2,771,111, assigned to the assignee of this application andinvention. -I prefer to mount the ice crusher attachment on a blendermotor power unit. conventionally, blenders are designed to operate athigh speeds.

The main object of this invention is to produce an ice crusher whichinstantaneously shatters ice cubes of any shape and produces uniformcoarse textured ice particles instead of the fine snow commonly producedby ice crushing devices heretofore known.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in an ice crusher of thecharacter described, means permitting quick and easy feeding of the icecubes into the machine and preventing shattered ice from being thrownout of the feeding entrance.

Another object of the invention is to provide impeller mechanism in theform of a one piece aluminum die casting, comprising a circular basefrom which rises a radially extending plate designed to prevent icecubes from slipping on the impeller base until they have beenaccelerated to the point where centrifugal force causes them to fiy offand shatter against the wall of crusher chamber. Diametrically oppositethe radial plate is an arcuate projection which also rises from thebase, concentrically, and has a mass and radius of gyration calculatedto balance the moment of inertia of the radial plate about the axis ofrotation of the impeller.

Another object of the invention is to provide means, in the form of theradial plate, for aiding in the discharge of the ice particles from thecrushing chamber by sweeping action.

Another object of the invention is to make the ice crusherinterchangeable with the ingredient container of a blender. Sinceblender motors are designed for high speed rotation and the' crusherimpeller may be directly coupled to the blender motor, the shattering ofthe ice cubes within the crusher chamber is an instantaneous reaction.

Another object of the invention is to provide a discharge spout which isintegrally cast with the crusher chamber housing. The latter has arectangular opening communicating with the spout and having a widthsubstantially less than that of a whole ice cube. The opening is locatedin the vertical cylindrical wall of the crusher chamber and communicateswith the spout between the two converging vertical side walls of thespout, so that shattered ice passes from the crusher chamber throughsaid opening into the spout in the direction of centrifugal force. Theupper wall of the outer end of the discharge spout is inclined at anangle so that it absorbs some of the energy of the high velocity iceparticles being discharged and allows them to drop into a collectingcontainer. The bottom of the cast discharge spout is partially coveredby a bottom plate to con-fine the discharge area to the end of thespout.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of an ice crusher embodying myinvention, in the planes of the lines 1-1 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the: top ring defining the entrance to thecrusher.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view in the plane of the line 33 ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the crusher, partly in section, with thecoupling member omitted, the plane of the section being indicated by theline 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view in the plane of the line 5-5 of FIG.3.

In that embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, the icecrusher comprises a top ring which defines the ice cube inlet andpreferably is flexible, made of vinyl material having durometer hardnessof 50-60, or other suitable material. The ring has a concentric groove11 on its lower marginal surface for receiving therein a part of thecover member of the crusher. The base 12 of the top ring 10 is fiat andprovided with a plurality of slits 13 each extending radially from acentral opening 14 to a small opening 15. The several openings 15 arelocated concentrically near the upright peripheral portion of the ring.The construction provides a series of lips which are flexible enough tobend downwardly and permit ice cubes to pass into the subjacent membersof the ice crusher while also preventing crushed ice particles frombeing tossed out of the inlet opening.

The top ring 10 is mounted on a cover member 16 which preferably is ahigh-impact thermoplastic molding comprising an integrally formed outerwall 17, downwardly and outwardly inclined, and an inner wall 18downwardly and inwardly inclined, concentric with each other, joinedtogether at their upper edges and terminating in an annular rib 19 whichfits into the groove 11 of the top ring. The outer wall 17 extendsdownwardly and outwardly beyond the horizontal plane of the lower edgeof the inner wall 18 and is provided with an internally locatedhorizontal shoulder 20 in the same horizontal plane as the lower edge ofthe inner wall 18. Beyond the shoulder 20, said outer wall 17 has formedthereon depending bosses 21, preferably three in number, equally spacedapart circumferentially of the wall 17, and provided with threaded bores22. The peripheral edge of the cover outer wall 17 is provided with anangular surface 23 for seating on the crusher chamber housing 25.

The crusher housing 25 comprises an outer side wall 26 and an innervertically disposed cylindrical wall 27 Which encloses a crusher chamber28%. The walls 26 and 27 merge at their lower portions as indicated at29 and are integral with a base 30 which is inclined radially downwardlyand outwardly from the hub 31 on the upper surface 32 of said base. Adepending collar 33 supports the crusher on a power unit (not shown) andis provided with four external recesses 34 for engagement with therubber lined bosses provided on blender motor housings (not shown). Thecollar 33 also encloses the coupling member 35 which is designed to bedriven by another coupling member on the power unit shaft (not shown).

The crusher housing base 30 is provided with four or more holes 36 fordraining water from the crushed ice. The housing 25 is connected to thecover member 16- by screw threaded bolts 37 which extend throughvertical bores in the portion 29 and engage the threaded bores 22 of thecover 16.

An impeller indicated as a whole at 40 is a one piece aluminum diecasting comprising a circular disc 41 having a flat upper surfacebetween its peripheral edge 42 and a centrally located frusto-conicalmember 43 shaped to fit over the upper end of the rotated shaft 44 whichextends through a central hole in the impeller member 43. A nut 45screwed on the threaded end 46 of the shaft 44 holds the impeller disc41 firmly on the shaft to rotate therewith. Rising from the flat portionof the impeller disc 41 is a radially extending vertical plate 47.

Diametrically opposite the plate 47, rising from the disc 41, is anarcuate vertically projecting member 48, concentric with the disc 41 andfrusto-conical member 43. The member 48 has a mass and radius ofgyration calculated to balance the moment of inertia of the radial plate47 about the axis of rotation of the impeller 40. The radial plate 47prevents ice cubes from slipping on the impeller disc surface until ithas been accelerated to the point where centrifugal force causes thecube to fly off and shatter against the wall 27 of the crusher housing25. The plate 47 also aids in the discharge of the shattered particlesfrom the crushing chamber 28 by its sweeping action. As conventionalblender motors are designed for high speed rotation and the impeller isdirectly coupled to the blender motor or other suitable motor drivenpower unit, the shattering of the cubes takes place instantaneously.

A fiat thin ring 49 provides a cover for the crusher chamber 28 andcloses the bottom opening between the cover walls 17, 18, preventing iceparticles from collecting between said walls.

The chamber 28 communicates through an opening 50 in the wall 27 with adischarge spout 51. The opening 50 is a rectangular opening having awidth substantially less than that of a conventional whole ice cube, andlocated in the vertical cylindrical wall of the crusher chamber andcommunicates with the spout between the two converging vertical sidewalls of the spout, so that the shattered ice passes from the crusherchamber through said opening into the spout in the direction ofcentrifugal force against the inclined upper and end walls of the spoutfrom which it falls by gravity. The spout 51 is cast integrally with thecrusher housing 25. It comprises converging side walls 52, a downwardlyinclined top wall 53 having a sharply inclined end portion 54 whichabsorbs some of the energy of the high velocity ice particles beingdischarged. The open bottom of the spout is partially covered by abottom plate 55, confining the discharge area 56 to the end of thespout, for delivery of ice particles to a receiving container (notshown). The bottom plate 55 is fastened by screw 57 to a web 58 in thespout and by the bolts 37 which also connect the crusher housing to thecover member 16.

The construction of the ice crusher attachment is such that the severalparts may be die cast economically; that the crusher housing 25 withintegral spout 51 may be connected to the cover member 16 by only threehidden bolts, and the top ring 10 frictionally held on or bonded to thecover member, and that the interior surfaces such as the intake chutewalls 18 and the crusher housing side wall 27 are smooth, generallycylindrical and efficient for their intended purposes. The form andconstruction of the impeller member produces instantaneous shattering ofice cubes into uniform coarse particles when the cubes are forciblythrown by centrifugal force against the housing wall 27. The absence ofcutting blades and sharp projections avoids formation of fine snow inthe shattered ice. The radial plate 47 serves the dual purpose ofretaining the ice cubes in position on the impeller base in readinessfor centrigually influenced motion, and of sweeping the shattered icetoward the opening 50 for passage through the spout.

Changes may be made in details of construction and form of some of theparts without departing from the scope of this invention as defined bythe appended claims.

I claim:

1. An ice crusher attachment for motor driven power units for producinguniformly coarse ice particles, characterized by the absence of bladesand projections which shave ice cubes into snow-like particles,comprising (a) an ice crusher housing forming a generally cylindricalvertical walled chamber having a circular base,

(b) a driven shaft vertically mounted in the base,

() an impeller comprising (c-l) an ice cube supporting disc within thechamber and of substantially the same diameter as said chamberconcentrically mounted on the shaft to rotate therewith,

(c2) a vertical radially extending plate rising from the disc andextending between the center and close to the peripheral edge of thedisc preventing slipping of ice cubes on the disc during acceleration ofrotation and until said cubes are thrown against the chamber side wallby centrifugal force, and

(c3) means on the disc diametrically opposite the radially extendingplate for balancing said impeller,

(d) a discharge spout connected to the crusher housing,

and

(e) an opening in the vertical cylindrical side wall of the housingbetween the crusher chamber and interior of the spout, said radiallyextending plate serving to sweep shattered ice particles from thecrusher chamber through said opening into the spout.

2. The ice crusher attachment defined by claim 1, in which the circularbase of the crusher housing is inclined radially downwardly andoutwardly, and apertured for drainage of melted ice.

3. The ice crusher attachment defined by claim 1, in which the impellerdisc is provided with a centrally located frusto-conical portion inwhich the rotated shaft is mounted, and the radially extending plate islocated between said f-rusto-conical portion and the periphery of thedisc.

4. The ice crusher attachment defined by claim 1, in which the impellerbalancing means is a vertical arcuate projection concentrically risingfrom the impeller disc between the center and periphery of the disc.

5. The ice crusher attachment defined by claim 1, in which the spoutcomprises side walls, an inclined top wall terminating in a sharplyinclined outer end portion, and a bottom plate closing the major portionof the spout bottom excepting a discharge opening located beneath saidsharply inclined top wall end portion.

6. The ice crusher attachment defined by claim 1, in which the openingbetween the crusher chamber and spout is rectangular in shape andnarrower than a conventional whole ice cube.

7. The ice crusher attachment defined by claim 1, which includes avertically elongated cover member mounted on the crusher housing andprovided with a centrally located intake chute communicating with thecrusher chamber, and a flexible top ring on the cover provided with aslit closure member for covering the intake chute and permitting icecubes to be passed through said slitted closure member.

8. An ice crusher attachment for motor driven power units for producinguniformly coarse ice particles, comprising (a) an integrally die castcrusher housing and spout,

(a-1) said crusher housing having spaced apart inner and outer sidewalls joined together at their lower portions,

(a-2) a passageway from the inner side wall to the interior of thespout,

(a-3) a base extending across the lower portion of the housing,

(b) a bladeless disc impeller rotatably mounted in the base,

(c) an integrally molded cover member comprising (c-l) spaced apartinner and outer side walls joined together at their upper edges andforming an upwardly projecting concentric rib,

(c-2) the inner cover wall forming an elongated intake chute leadinginto the crusher housing,

(c-3) the outer cover w-all being radially inclined downwardly andoutwardly and seated on the outer wall of the crusher housing,

(d) a plurality of depending internally threaded bosses on the outercover wall projecting into the space between the inner and outer wallsof the crusher housing when the parts are assembled,

(e) bolts extending through the lower portion of said crusher housingupwardly into said threaded bosses for connecting the cover member andthe crusher housing together, and

(f) a top ring mounted on the upwardly extending rib on the covermember,

(f-l) said top ring having a slitted closure member for covering theintake chute and permitting passage of ice cubes through the slittedclosure memher into the intake chute.

9. An ice crusher attachment for seating on the motor driven power unitof a blender or the like, comprising (a) a crusher housing having a sidewall and a base defining a crusher chamber,

(b) a depending collar on the bottom of the base corresponding in shapeto the lower end of a conventional blender ingredient container,

(c) a driven shaft rotatably mounted in the base,

(d) a bladeless disc impeller in the crusher chamber mounted on saidshaft,

(e) a spout connected to the crusher housing communicating at one endwith the chamber and having a discharge opening in its free end,

(f) a vertically elongated cover member having its lower peripheral edgeseated on the side wall of the crusher housing and forming an intakechute leading into the crusher chamber, and

(g) a closure member on the cover which is flexible and slitted topermit ice cubes to be passed through said member into the cover chute.

10. The ice crusher attachment defined by claim 9 in which the impellercomprises a disc concentrically mounted on the shaft, a verticalradially extending plate rising from the disc between its center andperipheral edge, and means on the disc located diametrically oppositesaid plate balancing the impeller.

11.The ice crusher attachment defined by claim 10, in which thebalancing means on the impeller disc is a vertical arcuate projectionrising from the disc between the center and peripheral edge of the disc.

12. An ice crusher attachment for motor driven power units for producinguniformly coarse ice particles comprising a housing having a cylindricalwall and an exit opening in said wall, means for guiding ice cubes intothe housing, and means comprising a rotatable disc of a diametersubstantially equal to the diameter of the housing and a plate on thedisc extending along a radius thereof within the housing for receivingthe ice cubes from the guiding means and throwing said cubes against thehousing wall with sufiicient force to shatter the cubes into coarse iceparticles and for sweeping the particles through the opening.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 44,989 11/1864 Whelpley 241-275 X736,657 8/1903 Whitharn 241-259 1,921,914 8/1933 Edman 241-76 2,780,4172/1957 Harris 241-275 X 2,905,397 9/1959 DeAngelis 241-188 3,165,2701/1965 Stout 241-188 X 3,171,605 3/1965 Knapp 241-257 ROBERT C. RIORDON,Primary Examiner. D. G. KELLY, Assistant Examiner,

12. AN ICE CRUSHER ATTACHMENT FOR MOTOR DRIVEN POWER UNITS FOR PRODUCINGUNIFORMLY COARSE ICE PARTICLES COMPRISING A HOUSING HAVING A CYLINDRICALWALL AND AN EXIT OPENING IN SAID WALL, MEANS FOR GUIDING ICE CUBES INTOTHE HOUSING, AND MEANS COMPRISING A ROTATABLE DISC OF A DIAMETERSUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE DIAMETER OF THE HOUSING AND A PLATE ON THEDISC EXTENDING ALONG A RADIUS THEREOF WITHIN THE HOUSING FOR RECEIVINGTHE ICE CUBES FROM THE GUIDING MEANS AND THROWING SAID CUBES AGAINST THEHOUSING WALL WITH SUFFICIENT FORCE TO SHATTER THE CUBES